Information and links

• Advertising positions

Job advertisements are important for many reasons: they ensure equal opportunities in accordance with the German Constitution, provide transparency, and help to maintain workplace peace, among other things. Find the Academic Staff Council statement on the importance of advertising vacancies below.

In some cases, it may be possible to apply for a job advertisement waiver. Cite the relevant reasons, and request a waiver from the Academic Staff Council before the formal hiring or retention process begins. To simplify the process of applying for a waiver, use the Application for Waiver of Job Advertisement for Academic Staff. The staff council must be involved as soon as dual career options are part of negotiations that require job advertisement waiver; how and why the WIPR is to be involved describes the dual career handout.

• Staff Selection

The Academic Staff Council has the statutory right of codetermination in all staff selection procedures g (cf. Handreichung zu Stellenbesetzungsverfahren). In the case of fixed-term contracts, the Academic Staff Council generally exercises its legally prescribed mandate on the basis of files. However, when selecting staff for permanent positions, a member of the Academic Staff Council must attend the selection committee’s meetings—this includes consulting on the selection criteria, the preselection of suitable applicants, interviews, and the final selection. Be aware that the Academic Staff Council must be given at least 2 weeks’ notice about the commencement of a selection committee’s work. Because each member of the Academic Staff Council is an academic at the University and serves on the committee on a voluntary basis, initial meetings set at short notice without prior agreement can rarely be attended. However, if the Academic Staff Council is not involved in selection committees for permanent positions from the beginning, this may result in the appointment procedure being ineffective.

• Procedural steps and forms

In a handout on staffing procedures, the Academic Staff Council has compiled key points that help to ensure that staff are selected in accordance with all rules of fairness and the principles of equal opportunity and inclusion.

The Universität Hamburg Staff Service Portal provides information on the procedural steps for hiring and retaining academic staff.

• https://www.kus.uni-hamburg.de/en/themen/personalservice/personaleinstellung-weiterbeschaeftigung/wip.html

The Staff Service Portal also offers guidelines on hiring, which were jointly developed by HR Services at Universität Hamburg and the Academic Staff Council.

• https://www.fid.uni-hamburg.de/LeitfadenWissPers.pdf

• Classification according to relevant work experience

The Academic Staff Council has a say in the classification according to levels of work experience, for which it is granted a maximum processing time of 2 weeks. However, classification procedures usually take much longer, as review procedures in the HR department take a lot of time. We assume that the processing time of 4 weeks should be sufficient.

You can help to speed up the classification procedure by submitting all required documents in full, such as proof of previous employment and scholarships in Germany and abroad.

• Parental leave

  If you have a fixed-term contract, the contract term can be extended by the period you take off for parental leave (and, if applicable, statutory maternity leave). Universität Hamburg’s Family Office provides information about the formalities in its guidelines for statutory maternity leave and parental leave. Under certain conditions, these regulations may also apply to externally funded contracts.

• Salary, vacation, etc.

  The salaries and vacations of the University’s academic staff are governed by the collective wage agreement for the public sectors of the German states (Tarifvertrag für den öffentlichen Dienst der  Länder, TV-L) because Universität Hamburg is accountable to the State of Hamburg. Collective wage agreement for the public sectors of the German states (TV-L)

• Fixed-term contracts

  Fixed-term contracts (and not only for doctoral and early career researchers) are based on the Academic Fixed-Term Contract Act (Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz, WissZeitVG). You can find important information about fixed-term positions here:

• Information from the German Association of University Professors and Lecturers (DHV):
• German Association of University Professors and Lecturers
• Doctoral and early career researchers pursuant to the WissZeitVG

• Information from the The German Education Union (GEW)
  • Academia
  • WissZeitVG

• Work overload

  If necessary, use this template to submit a complaint about work overload.

In Hamburg, professors who are civil servants are employed on the basis of the Hamburg act on provisions for civil servants (Hamburgischen Beamtengesetzes, HmbBG) dated 15 December 2009.

Since 1 January 2005, professors may be appointed to a “W” position only. See this page of the DHV for example for information about the legal basis and salaries.

The linked pages provide tips on implementing the equal opportunity directives when filling positions at Universität Hamburg:

• directive on setting up a general framework for realizing equal treatment on the job and in a profession
• Promotion of equal opportunities for women: mailing list for women in specific subject areas to promote the active search for potential female candidates

The framework (working) agreements (Dienstvereinbarungen) between Universität Hamburg and the various staff councils concern the work of the Academic Staff Council. You can find them on the home page of the technical, library, and administrative staff (TVP).

Framework (working) agreements (Dienstvereinbarungen) at Universität Hamburg

The Hamburg staff representation act (Hamburgische Personalvertretungsgesetz, HmbPersVG) and Universität Hamburg’s general service agreements with the staff councils form the legal basis for the representation of academic staff interests in Hamburg.

• Hamburg staff representation act (HambPersVG)

The Hamburg higher education act (Hamburgisches Hochschulgesetz, HmbHG) of 18 July 2001 (as amended in several places by Article 1, 20 December 2011) codifies, among other things, the requirements for academic work at Universität Hamburg

• Hamburg higher education act (HmbHG)

To supplement the statutes and legal instruments listed above, the following federal laws apply to academic staff:

• General Act on Equal Treatment (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz, AGG)
• Ordinance on Workplaces (Arbeitsstättenverordnung, ArbStättV)
• Working hours act (Arbeitszeitgesetz, ArbZG)
• Federal minimum vacation act (Bundesurlaubsgesetz, BUrlG)
• Continued remuneration act (Entgeltfortzahlungsgesetz, EntgFG)
• Unfair dismissal protection act (Kündigungsschutzgesetz, KSchG)
• Protection of mothers at work and during training or studies act (MuSchG)
• Act requiring the documentation of employment conditions (Nachweisgesetz, NachwG)
• German Social Security Code IX (Sozialgesetzbuch IX, SGB IX)
• German part-time and fixed-term contract act (Teilzeit- und Befristungsgesetz, TzBfG)
• Academic fixed-term labor contract act (Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz, WissZeitVG)